March Madness Betting Expected to Exceed $9.2 Billion

You’ve gotta hand it to the first guy who thought to really pimp out the bracket as the preferred method of keeping tabs on the NCAA Tournament. Sure, it makes sense, but they could have used something goofier like an Elimination Wheel or a Victors’ Ladder.

Instead, the tournament is all neatly contained and quantifiable, which makes it very easy to bet on. How easy? So easy that people are going to pump $9.2 billion or more into the grey market economy of tournament pools and straight-up wagers.

Not only do you have 68 different groups of alumni as potential gambling markets, but you’ve got many workers who treat the first two days of the tournament like holidays.

According to the American Gambling Association, the 70 million brackets completed will exceed the number of votes cast for any US presidential candidate. Which makes sense, because the tournament gives us better choices than the election does.

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